Many drums. One beat.
500-drum gathering, featuring Drum Café, highlights the launch of Community Renewal@TCU.
by Nancy Bartosek
Updated: Monday, October 11, 2010
More than 500 students came to enjoy the sound of unity and a shared commitment to building strong community on campus. (Photos by Carolyn Cruz)
The beat of 500 drums echoed through the Campus Commons last Thursday when a new campus-wide, community-building initiative known as Community Renewal University kicked off with a show by the Drum Café, an international team-building group.
For an hour, students bonded as they pounded out visceral beats in unison. The Drum Café leader interspersed lessons about living together in harmony as he encouraged students to contribute positively to their communities. (See a video of it below.)
Among the participants were representatives from five Louisiana colleges that came to see how TCU is rolling out the concept and the program.
Community Renewal University is an outgrowth of Community Renewal International, a program begun by Mack McCarter ’67 (MDiv ’71) in Shreveport, La., in 1994. The goal of CRU is to cultivate a strong sense of community among the student population and prepare them to be leaders in the communities they will one day live in.
“We believe that communities will thrive if positive, committed attention is given to relationships,” says Daniel Terry, director of Community Renewal@TCU. “We are committed to developing students to think and act for the well-being of their communities, and we will do that at TCU through the Community Renewal initiative.”
McCarter was thrilled by the turnout and the positive energy that the Drum Café elicited. “This is so exciting,” he said. “TCU is pioneering this program and setting up a model that will be replicated throughout the country in hundreds of other schools. It will be yet another way that TCU students are going to change the world.”
Community Renewal has been integrated into the programs overseen by Housing and Residence Life, as well as the Connections program and other programs within Student Development Services.
After the performance, students received “We Care” buttons and filled out cards to join the “We Care” team on campus.
On the Web:
More information on TCU's program: wecare.tcu.edu
More information on Community Renewal International: www.communityrenewal.us
Social Security: A Summer 2006 The TCU Magazine story about Mack McCarter
Video: